Since 1991 SYMG has shown thousands of people the beauty and adventure of Yosemite and the High Sierra. We hope to see you soon.

“Of the dozens of outdoor recreation companies that offer guided hiking and backpacking trips throughout the Yosemite region, the best of the bunch is Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides.” – Frommer’s

Why SYMG

SYMG is a leader in the active travel and mountain guiding world, providing carefully planned and executed trips in the most spectacular wilderness areas of California. SYMG was started in 1991 by three friends offering hiking trips into California’s mountains in hopes of more closely meshing lifestyle with work. Now, over 20 years later, we’ve shown thousands of people the beauty of Yosemite and the High Sierra and have been named one of the “Best Outfitters on Earth” by National Geographic Adventure Magazine.

Our Philosophy

Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides is concerned with the beauty of the mountains, the strength of interpersonal relationships, the wilderness experience, and the challenges these provide. SYMG intends to make people more aware of the environment, while providing an opportunity to meet others with similar interests. The people who make up each trip are as important as the areas and the places we explore. The primary concern for all trips is that they are run safely and provide a positive outdoor experience.

Our Style

Carefully chosen itineraries, seamless planning, friendly & knowledgeable guides, and incredible food all contribute to the quality of the SYMG experience. From big adventures to relaxing basecamp outings, our aim is to facilitate what just may be your “trip of a lifetime”.

Our Guides

Our professional mountain guides are there to facilitate a seamless and memorable trip for you. All guides are trained in wilderness medicine at the professional level and are experienced backcountry folks. Each guide has his/her own specialties, often associated with advanced coursework or certifications. Our guides are well versed in the natural and cultural history of the area, cook excellent food, and are fun, personable people to spend time with. Visit our Guides’ Page to learn more.

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3 reviews

KNaughton,
Jun 28, 2011 - Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides5/5

Took a trip with Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides (SYMG) backpacking from the valley floor to the top of Yosemite Falls. Made camp at the top, and took day hikes for 4 days before climbing back down. Our guide, Patrick Warren, was professional, personable, intelligent, educational, entertaining and an EXCELLENT cook. Some of the food he prepared over a camp stove in the high country: pork chops cooked in pinot noir, fettucini alfredo, italian sausages with asiago cheese, polenta with tomatoes and basil, granola with fresh fruit. His knowledge and experience after serving as a Search and Rescue EMT for a decade and climbing every inch of every rock in Yosemite (and elsewhere) made him an excellent guide and companion for the trip. I can’t think of a single thing that could have been improved upon.

We encountered a bear which was acting a little aggressively, and Patrick prepared to charge it to drive it off before he moved along on his own. He also instructed us on the best ways to have a comfortable, safe, enjoyable back country adventure while leaving the smallest footprint possible and leaving nature in its natural state. If you want to see the real Yosemite, look these guys up.

Well i’m a pretty difficult guy to please but myself and a buddy went trekking with these guys for three days thru Yosemite recently and they were fantastic. (Ian) Thoughtfully created a great itinerary for us based on our experience and gave us a terrific guide (Pat). They give you much more than just having a guide that is familiar with the park – the guide meticulously planned out equipment and the route, then changed the route as conditions changed to ensure we stayed on our schedule, was very conscious of safety (bears and falling off cliffs are not uncommon…) and made the trip a total pleasure. Even the small stuff like keeping track of water consumption, making sure our meals were balanced with proper protein/carb mix (it’s pretty impt when you’re at 10k feet walking 10hrs day with a pack!) and leaving extra early for the summit treks so you don’t get caught in the heat or the tourist traffic. All in all, i’d strongly recommend these guys and will def use them again.